The interim closure brings the investment capacity of the fund to €75 million

Impact Investment group Investisseurs & Partenaires (I&P) has reportedly announced the interim closure of its fund I&P Afrique Entrepreneurs 2 (IPAE 2), bringing the investment capacity of the fund to €75 million.

IPAE 2 was launched back in December 2017 to promote a new generation of entrepreneurs African. It aims to support more than thirty companies in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2022. It is a follow up to the IPAE 1 fund, which has invested in 29 African companies and recently announced two exits.

Investisseurs & Partenaires’ IPAE 2 fund brings together a diverse range of investors, including public investors like IFC, PROPARCO, European Investment Bank, BIO, FMB, and Bpifrance, private and corporate investors like AXA Impact Fund, and Societe Generale as well as a number of family offices and foundations.

IPAE 2 Has Invested In Four SMEs Till Date

With a first closing at €50 million, the fund has already invested money in four SMEs till date including Afribon, which specializes in the development, production and marketing of food flavors, the African Management Initiative (AMI), which offers professional training to African entrepreneurs and managers, CoinAfrique, the leader in mobile classifieds in French-speaking Africa, and PROCRÉA, an Ivorian clinic specialized in the field of reproductive health.

The second closing, which amounts to €25 million, saw a number of renowned investors joining the fund including the Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries (BIO), the Stichting fondsbeheer DGGF lokaal MKB, Bpifrance, Crédit Coopératif, FPS Mirova Solidaire and the World Bank Group’s IDA 18 IFC-MIGA Private Sector Window, which was created to mobilize private sector investment in fragile and conflict-affected states in IDA-only countries.

IPAE 2 Aims To Reach Target Size Of €80-90 Million

IPAE 2 is right on track to reach its target size of €80-90 million. The fund is expected to complete a third and final closing by the end of the first half of 2019. It is currently one of the largest African SME dedicated funds in the impact investing sector. IPAE 2 provides companies with governance assistance, personalized managerial support, and technical assistance resources, helping them to reach their full potential in terms of growth and impact.

I&P has also raised a technical assistance budget of over €2.9 million from several of its public investors, to complement the team’s support by providing expert missions in the company’s fields of activity or in the social, environmental and governance areas.